The authors employ statistical analysis to determine if Poland’s regional and local job markets are subject to convergence or divergence in macroeconomic terms. The article analyzes selected labor market variables such as productivity at the regional level, real wages and the unemployment rate. The analyses are based on data from the website www.stat.gov.pl for the 2002-2009 period and for the 2002-2007 period in the case of labor productivity.
The authors examine the main theoretical aspects of the processes of real convergence and divergence. They present statistical analyses of unconditional s - and b-convergence at the regional and local levels using panel data. The article ends with a summary and a set of conclusions.
The research carried out by the authors reveals that none of the analyzed labor market variables, at either the local or regional levels, was subject to s-convergence throughout the analyzed period, but in specific sub-periods both convergence and divergence processes were observed. The convergence equations estimated by the authors show that only the unemployment rate was subject to b-convergence in both regional and local terms. In the analysis at the regional level, a divergence of real wages was observed in 15 provinces, with Mazovia province being the only exception nationwide. In turn, the research did not confirm that there is a divergence of wages at the county level, the authors note. In the analyzed period, labor productivity at the regional level was not subject to either b-convergence or divergence.